Printing plate stacker



Sept. 15, 1970 E. M. BINZONI 3,5

PRINTING PLATE STACKER Filed Dec. 23, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.544/1. /0 M. B/IVZO/V/ mwmwm A o Mr Sept. 15, 1970 Filed Dec. 23, 1968E. M. BINZONI v PRINTING PLATE STACKER ZSheetS-Sheet z INVENTOR. EMILIOM. B/NZOIV/ United States Patent Office 3,528,565 Patented Sept. 15,,1970 U.S. Cl. 214-6 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The stackerapparatus includes 'a tray for supporting successively received platesin stacked relation. A pair of elongated parallel arms, pivotallyconnected at their one ends to the tray and at their other ends to asupport, maintain the tray horizontally oriented during generallyvertical movement within a housing. A spring positioned beneath the armsbeyond the housing permits automatic, incremental downward movement ofthe tray as each plate is stacked thereon. The housing is apertured toaccommodate entry of the plates in succession, extension of the armstherein, and withdrawal of plate stacks, and also includes means forguiding incoming plates onto the stack.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application entitled Printing PlateStacker, Ser. No. 668,092, filed Sept. 15, 1967, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed toapparatus for accepting plate-like elements in rapid succession andautomatically orienting them for subsequent mass withdrawal in stackedrelation. A specific, but not necessarily limited application of theinvention is to automated address printing equipment wherein addressplates are conveyed in series from an input stack of address plates to aprinting station. The arrival of each address plate at the printingstation is coordinate with the arrival of an envelope, and the addressinformation embossed on the plate is printed on the envelope. From theprinting station, the plates are conveyed in series to collectionapparatus. Since the only practical way to handle large numbers ofplates is in stacked form, the collection apparatus is invariably in theform of a stacker.

Modern printing equipment of this type operates at an extremely rapidrate and are largely unattended in series from an input stac kof addressplates to a printand the input stack of address plates, and for removalof the stacked plates from the output stacker. As a consequence, thereis considerable emphasis placed on the reliability of the variouscomponents of the equipment, including the output stacker. In achievinghigh printing rates, the plates must be rapidly conveyed through theequipment, arriving at the output stacker with a relatively highvelocity. Should a jam occur at the output stacker, the plates, theoutput stacker and/or the plate conveying apparatus may be damaged. Themost common form of jam at the output stacker is when a previouslyreceived plate has been improperly handled such that it interferes withthe arrival of the next plate. Thus, the output stacker must operaterapidly and reliably to initially accept each plate and relegate it to aposition where it will not interfere with the acceptance of succeedingplates.

A second equally important requirement of the output stacker is that itmust properly align each plate as it is being stacked. Misalignment ofplates in the stack may interfere with the relegation of the receivedplates to positions where they will not interfere with the acceptance ofsubsequent plates. In addition, plate misalignment in the stack mayinterfere with withdrawal of the plate stacks from the output stacker,storage of the plates, and later acceptance of the stacked plates at theinput of the equipment.

The problem of stack alignment is further complicated by the fact thatin recent years address plates, for example, have been adapted withcoding tabs. The presence and location of these coding tabs are rapidlysensed by sensing apparatus in the printing equipment for determiningwhich of the plates conveyed to the printing station are to be printedout. For example, tabs are selectively positioned along one edge of theaddress plates to signify the geographical location of the addressembossed thereon. In a mass mailing operation, it may be desired toprint out only those addresses going to a particular locality. Thus,those plates bearing addresses to other localities are conveyed to theoutput stacked without being printed out.

The presence of these coding tabs along the edges of the platescomplicates the provisions for relegating and aligning the incomingplates on top of the plate stack.

Output plate stackers typically employ amovable platform or tray onwhich the plates are stacked. The tray is spring biased upwardly to thepoint where, in the absence of plates thereon, the upper surface of thetray is somewhat below the exit level of the conveying means bringingthe plates to the stacker. As each plate is stacked on the tray, itsweight acting against the spring, causes the tray to move downwardly byan increment at least equal to the plate thickness. It will beappreciated that if this does not occur, the top of the plate stack willultimately interfere with the arrival of subsequent plates.

It is also important that the level differential between the stack andthe exit of the conveyor means not be excessive, otherwise the incomingplates may be excessively titled during stacking, making stack alignmentmore diflicult. It is thus apparent that the level of the plate stack inthe output stacker not only must always be below the exit level of theconveyor, but it cannot be so much lower that the plates becomeimproperly aligned on the stack as the result of excessive anduncontrolled fall from the exit of the conveyor. As a consequent, thespring controlling the incremental downward movement of the stacksupporting tray must be of high quality with rather precise operatingcharacteristics.

Heretofore, the spring has typically been located directly beneath thestack supporting tray. This location has not been altogethersatisfactory since, due to the relatively light weight of each plate, itis diflicult to obtain uniform incremental compression of the spring in.response to the stacking of each plate. If the spring is the solemounting element for the tray, its lateral flexibility allows the trayto bind against contiguous structure, thus inhibiting requisite springresponse.

It has been proposed to support the tray on laterall extending pivotallymounted arms with a spring acting on the arms at a point spacedlaterally from the tray. The leverage afforded by the arms serves tomagnify the weight of each plate as it is stacked, and thus the springneed not be as sensitive as where it works directly against the bottomof the tray. The problem remains, however, to provide appropriate stackaligning means for insuring that each plate, as it assumes its positionon the top of the stack, is in proper alignment with the other stackedlates.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provideapparatus for reliably stacking plate-like elements received in rapidsuccession.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide plate stackingapparatus capable of accepting plate-like elements in rapid succession,aligning them in stacked relation, and permitting withdrawal of stackedplates en masse.

A further object of the invention is to provide plate stacking apparatusreliably operating to rapidly relegate each received plate to anout-of-the-way position atop the plate stack such as to avoidinterference With the next incoming plate.

An additional object of the invention is to provide plate stackingapparatus capable of aligning and stacking plate-like elements having avarying and irregular edge configuration.

Still another object is to provide stacking apparatus which issimplified in design and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, thereis provided stacking apparatus for plate-like elements. While in thedisclosed embodiment the plate-like elements are address printing platesused in automated envelope addressing equipment, it is understood thatthe principals of the invention may be adapted to stacking plates ofother types and shapes.

According to the invention, the plate-like elements are stacked on atray supported on the ends of a pair of elongated, parallel arms. Theother ends of the arm are pivotally mounted to a support. The tray isthus supported by the arms for vertical movement in a stack aligninghousing while being maintained horizontally oriented. The tray is biasedupwardly by a compression spring positioned beneath the arms beyond thehousing. As each plate is stacked on the tray, its weight, magnified bythe inherent leverage of the tray supporting arms, causes an incrementalcompression of the spring and a corresponding incremental downwardmovement of the tray by an amount at least equal to the plate thickness.

The housing serves to align the plates as they are relegated to the topof the plate stack, and yet is suitably apertured to accommodate entryof the plates in succession, extension of the tray supporting armstherein, and withdrawal of plate stacks. The stack withdrawal apertureis partially closed off by a flap which is spring biased into closureposition, but readily swings open to accommodate withdrawal of platestacks. The flap also serves as an abutment against which the platesstrike pursuant to being stacked.

The housing is further adapted with a resilient guide operating inconjunction with the flap to force each plate, upon entry into thehousing, to assume proper orientation on the plate stack. The guideperforms this alignment function despite the presence of coding tabsattached to the plates. The resilient guide is readily deflected topermit plate stack withdrawal from the housing.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the nature andobjects of the invention, reference should be had to the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away, of plate stackingapparatus constructed according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational, sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational, sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the portion of the stackingapparatus of FIG. 1 including the stack withdrawal aperture; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational, sectional view taken alongline 55 of FIG. 2.

Similar reference numerals refer to corresponding parts through theseveral views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, theplate stacking apparatus of the invention, generally indicated at 10 inFIG. 1, is adapted to stack a series of address plates 12 conveyedthereto in rapid succession by a suitable conveyor, generally indicatedat 14. It will be understood that the details and construction of theconveyor 14 form no part of the invention, except that the conveyor mustestablish a fixed exit level from which the plates 12 are successivelydelivered to the stacking apparatus 10.

The plates 12 arriving at the stacking apparatus 10 are stacked on aplatform or tray 18, best seen in FIG. 2. The tray 18 is mounted by apair of elongated channelshaped arms 20 and 21. A pair of laterallyspaced brackets 22, depending from the underside of tray 18, mount apair of vertically aligned pins 23 and 24 extending therebetween (FIG.3). Pins 23 and 24 extend through the depending side portions of arms 20and 21, respectively, to pivotally connect the tray 18 to the left handends of the arms. Similarly, a pair of spaced brackets 26 (FIGS. 1 and2) support the ends of a pair of vertically aligned pins 28 and 30,which extend through the depending side portions of arms 20 and 21 topivotally mount the right hand ends of the arms. Brackets 26 are securedto an upright support member 40 by suitable means such as bolts 41.

It is seen that the arms '20 and 21 form a parallelogram linkagesupporting the tray 18 for generally vertical movement while maintainingthe tray horizontally oriented. Strictly speaking, the movement of thetray 18 is along a vertical arc Whose radius corresponds to the lengthof the arms 20 and 21.

Downward movement of the tray 18 is controlled by a compression spring32 positioned beneath arm 21 at a location substantially mid-way betweenits ends. The lower end of spring 32 bears against a base plate 38supported by brackets 39 depending from a fixed upright support member42. The upper end of spring 32 bears against the underside of arm 21,biasing tray 18 upwardly to the point where arm 20 abuts a resilientstop 44 carried along the upper edge of an aperture 43 in support member42. The base plate 38 has upwardly turned edge portions while the uppersurface of arm 21 has downwardly struck portions 21a serving to retainthe ends of spring 32 in place.

In the absence of lates stacked on tray 18, spring 32 is designed tobias the tray to its uppermost position as defined by abutment of upperarm 20 against resilient stop 44. As each plate is stacked on tray 18,its Weight creates a moment about pivot pins 28 and 30 causingincremental compression of spring 32 and corresponding downwardincremental movement of tray 18. Each increment of downward movement ofthe tray is at least equal to the thickness of each plate, thusmaintaining the level of the plate stack below the exit level of theconveyor 14.

It is seen that the moment created by the weight of each plate producesa larger incremental compressive force on spring 32 than would be thecase if spring 32 were disposed immediately beneath the tray 18. As aconsequence, spring 32, as employed in the instant invention, may beless sensitive.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, tray 18 moves vertically within a housing 34.The housing is three sided, with one side open to permit manualwithdrawal of a plate stack from the stacking apparatus 10. One of theremaining three sides of housing 34 is formed having a verticallyelongated aperture 34a accommodating the extension therethrough of arms20 and 21. As best seen in FIG. 2,

the housing 34 is supported by brackets 35 which are secured to agenerally U-shaped frame member 37 together with a housing cover member36. The central portion of cover 36 is open to avoid contact with theembossed address print carried by the address plates 10.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flap 50 is pivotally mounted to housing 34adjacent the open end thereof. Flap 50 is spring biased to a position,shown in solid lines in FIG. 1, partially closing off the open end ofthe housing. The upper portion of flap 50 is somewhat enlarged to serveas a resilient abutment against which the plates entering the housingstrike pursuant to being stacked on tray 18. Flap 50 is readilydeflected to an open position, seen in phantom in FIG. 1, uponwithdrawal of a stack of plates 12. In this connection, stack withdrawalis also facilitated by the provision of a depression 39 formed in tray18 for accommodating a finger of the operator in grasping the stack.

The resilient aspect of flap 50 is also significant from the standpointthat if the operator fails to promptly remove the plate stack when thetray reaches its bottommost position, the top plate on the stack can bepushed out the open end of the housing by the next incoming plate. Thusjam-ups and possible damage to apparatus and plates are avoided.

A resilient guide 52, seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, is carried by the sidewallof housing 34 opposite from flap 50 for extension into the housingadjacent the open end thereof. Guide 52 is positioned such as to engagea corner portion of each plate 12 just prior to engagement with flap 50upon entry into the housing 34. This guide 52 serves to insure that eachplate 12 is properly aligned as it is being stacked. It is to be notedthat due to the dished configuration of the plates 12, final alignmentatop the stack is accomplished as each plate nests with its predecessor.

It Will be appreciated that, since the movement of tray 18 withinhousing 34 is along an arc, the lateral sidewalls of the housing 34cannot conveniently serve as stack aligning elements. This is due to thefact that the spacing between the housing sidewalls must be somewhatgreater than the width of plates 12, in order to accommodate thisarcuate movement of the tray 18 as well as the plates stacked thereon.As a consequence, the guide 52, acting as a part of the housing 34,serves to insure that each plate, as it enters the housing, is initiallysufliciently aligned to assume nested, stacked relation with the otherplates on the tray 18.

The significance of guide 52 is even greater when the plates 12 areadapted with coding tabs 12a extending from their left band edge, asseen in FIG. 2. This necessitates an even greater lateral spacingbetween the housing sidewalls. Yet, guide 52, working against theleading corner of each arriving plate 12 where there is no coding tab,insures the requisite alignment of each plate pursuant to being stacked.

Due to the resiliency of guide 52, it is readily deflected along withflap 50 to permit withdrawal of plate stacks from the stacking apparatus10.

Referring to FIG. 5, a latch 46 is pivotally mounted to upright supportmember 42 adjacent the aperture 43 therein. During normal operation,latch 46 is pivoted to an out-of-the-way position beyond aperture 43 soas not to interfere with movement of the arms 20 and 21 therein.However, during transport of the apparatus to Which the stacker isadapted, it is preferable to immobilize arms 20, 21 and tray 18. Thearms are depressed to their lower most positions, and the latch 46pivoted to bring its tip into overlying relation with arm 20, as seen inFIG. 5. If desired, latch 46 may also be employed to hold the tray 18down during withdrawal of plate stacks.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efliciently attained and,since certain changes may be made in the above construction withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

Having described by invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. Stacking apparatus for receiving a series of plates and aligning themin stacked relation, said apparatus including in combination:

a plate receiving means including a box-like housing adapted to receiveplates at one longitudinal end thereof and substantially open at theother longitudinal end thereof so as to allow the endwise withdrawal ofplates that have been stacked in said housa horizontally disposed platetray supported within said housing;

means mounting said horizontal plate tray for vertical movement withinsaid housing, said mounting means including a parallelogram linkageextending substantially horizontally perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of said housing whereby said plate tray is always disposed insubstantially parallel horizontal planes during vertical movementthereof in said housing;

said linkage connected adjacent one end to said tray and adjacent itsopposite end to a support, the linkage extending through an opening in asidewall of said housing;

spring means located mediately of the ends of said linkage for upwardlybiasing said tray towards a normal upper position in said housing;

plate deflecting means in said housing for deflecting each plate fedinto said one end of said housing so that said deflected plates aredisplaced substantially horizontally in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said housing and are properlystacked and aligned in said housing;

yieldably mounted panel means disposed adjacent said other end of saidhousing for yieldably retaining the stacked plates in said housing untilthey are longitudinally withdrawn from said other end of said housing,and

said housing being larger widthwise than the width of the stackedarticles to accommodate arcuate movement of said tray.

2. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, additionally comprising means forreleasably retaining said plate tray in a position remote from its saidnormal position.

3. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said plate deflecting meanscomprises a yieldable element disposed adjacent one lateral side of saidhousing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,434,411 1/ 1948 Johnson.2,084,741 6/1937 Price. 2,796,260 6/ 1957 Willard. 2,994,529 8/ 1961Relis 27188 X 3,122,242 2/1964 Lopez et al. 3,137,499 6/1964 Maidment271-88 X 3,257,004 6/ 1966 Potrafke. 3,269,089 8/1966 Heywood. 3,298,6831/1967 Stroud. 3,374,902 3/1968 Mills.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner R. J. SPAR, Assistant Examiner U.S.Cl. X.R. 214-; 271-88

